Our Evolving United States Constitution
Spring, 2011
Instructor: Jim Bolner, Sr.
We will examine the
United States Constitution as a legal and political document and as a body of
political understanding. Our focus will be how the Constitution has evolved
through adaptation and interpretation at the hands of public opinion, the
judiciary, legislative and executive bodies, and interest groups.
Time and Dates:
9:30–11:30 a.m. - Mondays, January 24, 31; February 7, 14,
21, 28
Outline
I. Historical Background
- The Declaration of Independence (1776)
- The First Constitution - The Articles of Confederation
- The Framers of 1787: Their Intentions, Values, and Motives
- The 1787 Constitutional Convention
- Ratification of the Constitution
- Amendments to the Constitution
II. The Constitution as Text and as a Body of Understandings
- Separation of Powers, Judicial Review, Federalism
- Strict Construction - "Originalism"
- Loose Construction - "Adaptation"
- Whose Girlfriend Is Being Insulted?
- Evolution Through Constitutional Amendments
III. Judicial Landmarks of Constitutional Interpretation
-
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
-
McCulloch v. Maryland
(1819)
-
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
-
Brown v. Board of
Education (1954)
-
Bush v. Gore (2000)
IV. Congressional and Presidential Landmarks of Constitutional
Interpretation
-
The Louisiana Purchase
-
The Interstate Commerce Commission
- The Social Security Act
V. The Nature of Constitutional Evolution
- Pragmatism
- Materialism
- Individualism
VI. The Constitution of the Future
- An Amendable Constitution
- An Internationl Constitution
- A Controversial Constitution
Online Resources
This Handout -
http://bodoc.net/lag/y1102lagconst/index.htm
The Framers or Founding Fathers (National Archives)
The
United States Constitution (Findlaw)
The United States Constiution (Cornell)
The United States Constitution Annotated
The United States
Constitution
The Avalon Project
- Major Document Collections
The Debates
Over Ratification of the Constitution (Elliot's Debates)
Ratification Dates
and Votes
Unratified Constitutional Amendments and
Analysis of the Unratified Amendments
Editorial - Baton
Rouge Morning Advocate
-
October , 2010 and
Response to the Editorial
Justices Bryer and Scalia Debate Constitutional
Interpretation - November 12, 2010
The United States Supreme Court -
Official Site
Laws Held Unconstitutional in Whole or in Part by the United States
Supreme Court - [total: 159 as of 2011] -
State and Local
Laws Held Unconstitutional
[total: 224, to 2002]
Justices of the United States Supreme Court - Nominations - [from U.S. Senate]
Jill Lepore, "The Commandments:The Constitution and Its
Worshippers," The New Yorker,
January 17, 2001.
Pauline Maier, Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788
(Simon and
Schuster,
2010 [Available online through chapter 5.]
The Constitution Project
The Constitution Center
The Constitutional
Convention Timeline
Wickard v. Filburn
(1942) - Explaining Congress' Power to Regulate Commerce
--Summary of
the Court's Ruling
United States v. Lopez (1995) - Explaining Limits on Congress' Commerce Power
--Summary
of the Court's Ruling
Citizens United v. FEC (2009) - The Court Rules in Favor of Corporate
Free Speech
--Long Summary of
the Court's Ruling
Constitutional Evolution Today (Well, Yesterday) - Statutory Interpretation and
Constitutional
Developments - PBS Evening News -February 22, 2011
The Obama
Administration's Letter to Congress Declaring that the Administration
Will Not Defend the Defense of Marriage Act - February 23, 2011
A Century of Lawmaking
for a New Nation - U.S. Congressional Documents and
Debates, 1774-1875
Charlie Rose Interview
With David Boies - PBS - Video - June 3, 2009
Nina Totenberg Interview With Ted Olson - NPR - Audio - December 6, 2010
Contact
Information
Jim
Bolner, Sr.
2424 Dawson's Creek Lane
Baton Rouge, LA 70808-0114
766.5987 -
jimbolnersr@cox.net
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